High School Reunion
by Beth Smith
Summary: Fifteen years later, the gang reunites for their reunion. There are surprises in store for them all. I know this summary is terrible, but I hope the story's better. ED, J guess who?


**Disclaimer and A/N: **I don't own That 70s Show. If I did, it would have been hardcore Jackie and Hyde forever. Lol. But I guess that's not going to happen. Anyway, this is my first T7S fic, so please give some constructive criticism. And I know the ending sucks, and the whole thing makes me sad in a way, but I'll deal. Hrm… Read on, and please review.

**High School Reunion**

Fifteen years since they'd graduated high school. Fifteen years and they were all going to be together again. Some of them were still in Point Place, others had gone far away. But now, all of them were going to reunite.

Eric and Donna Forman were at home in Green Bay, getting ready. "Eric, have you seen my hairbrush?" Donna yelled to her husband, who was in the bedroom, tying his tie.

"Um… I think it's on the bedside table," Eric called back.

Donna sighed and walked into the bed room, wearing a dark green dress. "Wow…" Eric said, looking at her. "I… I mean, you… You look hot."

Donna laughed. She had changed since high school, but some things never changed. "Shut up," she said, but she was smiling at the compliment.

"Mommy!" said a little boy with Donna's red hair as he walked into the room. "Mommy, I can't button this shirt right…"

Donna smiled. "Well, Danny, come here a minute." She knelt down to help the little guy button his shirt, which had been buttoned unevenly, so one side was further down than the other. "There ya go, buddy. All better."

Eric looked at Donna, who stood back up and started running the brush through her hair again. "How do I look?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Great… Great…" Eric replied. No lie, she looked gorgeous.

And then, they were off, out to the car hoping to make it on time.

-

Steven Hyde going back to Point Place? Was it really possible? He'd sworn to himself after he left that he'd never go back. He'd never set foot back in that crappy little town. But there he was, in Kitty Forman's house. She'd insisted he stay there as soon as she heard he was coming back for the reunion. He'd thought about wearing a tie, but decided against it. Seriously, he was Hyde for God's sake and he hadn't changed that much.

So he put on a button down shirt and a pair of jeans with a sport coat and looked at himself in the mirror. He never had gotten his fro tamed. And he hadn't given up wearing sunglasses all the time, either. He wrinkled his nose and took off the sport coat. Why'd he even have that damn thing? He hated it. He found a denim jacket in his suitcase and pulled it on.

He walked down the stairs out of Eric's old room to the living room. "Hey, Mrs. Forman," he said, smiling at Kitty, who was sitting on the couch.

Kitty smiled sadly. "It's good to have you here, Steven," she said, holding her hand out to him. Hyde cocked one of his famous half-smiles before sitting on the couch beside her.

"It's good to be back, Mrs. Forman," he said. And it really was. No matter where he went, no matter how much he swore that he hated Point Place… This was home.

Red was gone. He'd passed a few years ago. No one had even known where Hyde was to tell him about it. He felt like a heel for not being there for Mrs. Forman and Eric. But he hadn't known.

He looked around the living room at all the pictures of a kid in different stages of growth. "That Eric and Donna's kid?" he asked, looking at one of the pictures of the smiling red-haired boy with Eric's goofy grin.

"Yes… His name's Danny… Daniel… And he's 7. He's really smart… And…" Kitty sighed. "Eric and Donna bring him over on the weekends. It's always nice to see them."

She looked at Steven. "Do you have a family now, Steven?" she asked, hoping that the man who had been like a son to her had finally found some happiness.

"Nah," Hyde said, shaking his head. "Nobody cared enough to try to settle me down… And I probably wouldn't have done it anyway."

Kitty was smarter than that. One girl had cared enough… And had almost done it, too… But that was a long time ago, and things had changed a lot.

Steven got up and looked at her. "Well, Mrs. Forman, I better go. I don't wanna be late."

Kitty watched him go, hoping that tonight would remind Steven of his friends and maybe bring him back for good.

-

Michael Kelso was combing his hair when Betsy came into the room. The girl looked a lot like her mother, but that had happened a long time ago, and he and Brooke just weren't meant to be. But Kelso had taken care of his little girl the best he could.

He'd gotten married, and had another little girl, and a boy. Overall, things had worked out great for him. He even had a really nice job. No one would have ever thought that Kelso would have gotten a good job.

"Michael," his wife said, pointing at the zipper on the back of her navy blue dress.

He walked over, smiling. "OK," he said, zipping the zipper, and smiling. "You look awesome!" he exclaimed, grinning like a complete idiot. Which he still was, to some extent.

Loading up his family in the car, Kelso got ready to go see his friends again. Wow, it had really been too long.

-

Fez had stayed in Point Place all this time. He'd met a girl from his own home, the beautiful island of… well, never mind… and gotten married. He had a baby on the way, and over all life was pretty good, though it was hard to get a good job when interviewers couldn't understand you. He'd somehow done well for himself anyway, and he loved his life.

This reunion was going to be great. He wondered who all would be there. He sure hoped Hyde had gotten the invitation. He really wanted to see his friend.

-

It was 7 o'clock, and the dining room of the nicest hotel in Kenosha was filling with people. Of course, Eric, who'd always hated being late, showed up among the early arrivals with Donna and Danny. He looked around the room. "Gosh, Donna, none of the old gang's here yet."

"Of course not," Donna said, rolling her eyes. "Eric, nobody gets here right on time. Ever."

Eric shrugged, but immediately smiled as Fez and his bride walked through the door. The poor woman looked like she was just about to pop. He tapped Donna on the shoulder and she turned around, shocked to see Fez with his pregnant wife at his side. "What the he… heck?" Donna exclaimed, taking Danny by the hand and making her way over to their friend.

The Formans and Fez started talking, excited to see each other again. "Oh, my God," Donna exclaimed, looking at her friend. "Look at you! Why the he… heck didn't you tell me you guys were having a baby?" she asked, smiling at Fez's wife, who'd been affectionately titled "Mrs. Fez" since her name was just as unpronounceable as Fez's.

Not too much later, Hyde walked into the room, looking around. He grinned when he saw Eric, Donna, Fez, and the very pregnant Mrs. Fez standing in a circle talking. Walking over to the group, he clapped Eric on the shoulder. "How's it goin', Forman?"

"Hyde!" Eric exclaimed, turning around to hug his friend, who acted a little weirded out by the hugging thing. "Yeah, it's good to see you, too, Forman," he said. He shook his head, looking at Fez. "Since when do you have a kid on the way, Fez?"

Fez smiled happily. "Well…" he said, the wickedest of grins on his face. "She appreciates me for the sexy man I am."

"Apparently," Hyde said. "She's havin' your kid, you horny little bastard." He grinned at his friend, whose smile was enough to take him back to high school. Fez was one of those people that you just never forget hanging out with.

Donna shot him a look to remind him to watch his language in front of Danny, but Hyde just grinned at her. Picking the boy up, he looked him in the eye and said, "Well, buddy, Uncle Hyde's gonna tell you all about your mom and dad in high school."

Donna and Eric looked at each other before following Hyde off to the corner of the room, where he headed to with their son. By the time they caught up to them, Hyde was already promising to give Danny his first beer before he turned 15.

They were all so caught up in Danny that they didn't notice when the Kelso family walked into the room. In fact, Eric and Donna had already (with some reservations) entrusted Danny to "Uncle Hyde" long enough for them to go get a drink when Kelso made his way over. "Eric!" he exclaimed. "Donna!"

Hyde heard the commotion and looked over to see Kelso holding a little boy, and with a girl at his side. "Damn," he thought. "Kelso either got somebody else knocked up, or the bastard finally got married." He couldn't imagine Kelso married, but things had changed a lot… Anything was possible.

After noticing Kelso, Hyde looked around a bit more, and saw Jackie. Was it just him, or had she just gotten prettier? He thought about that for a minute, then realized that Jackie had been a year behind them in school, so this wasn't her class reunion. She was here with someone.

He stood up, Danny in his arms, and walked toward Jackie, as quickly as possible while toting a seven-year-old and weaving through people. He had to see her and find out who she was with, and why she was here. "Jackie!" he called, trying to get her attention, since her back was turned to him.

She turned around and a smile lit up her face. "Steven?!" she exclaimed, walking over to hug him. "It's so good to see you!"

It was then that he saw the glittering from her left hand. So she was married was she?

"Hey, yeah… It's really good to see you, too," he replied, his heart sinking. Why had he blown this? If not for his own stupidity, that ring on her finger could have had his name on it.

But it didn't, and now, he'd have to force himself to talk to Jackie like she was anyone else. Like she was Donna or Forman or Kelso. "How've things been?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Um… great," he lied. "Great…" Things had in fact been nothing but great, what with being on the move all the time. Trying to keep an honest job and barely getting by. But he couldn't tell her that. Not now. "How're things with you?"

"They're great, Steven… I'm really happy… I have a family now…" She looked at him, and suddenly, she felt like she was a teenager again.

Hyde fought the urge to get pissed. He told himself to keep up the stone face. He didn't ask. Didn't ask anything.

"Are you married?" she asked, looking him in the eye.

"Who me?" he asked. "No… Hell, no."

"Uncle Hyde," Danny piped up. "Mommy said 'hell' is a bad word."

He shook his head. "Y'know what, kid, your mommy's right. Sorry about that." He'd never apologized for his language before, but the kid made him feel funny about it.

"So… um… how many kids you got?" he asked.

"Well," she said. "We had two. Michael already had Betsy, you know…"

"Whoa, wait," Hyde interrupted. "Michael? As in Kelso? As in the dumbass who cheated on you in high school?"

He bit his tongue again. "Just calm down," he thought. "It's OK."

"Yes, Steven, Michael Kelso…" She was beginning to get angry, and so was Hyde.

Turning around, he found Donna in the crowd and pointed her out to Danny. "Hey, kid… go catch your mom, OK?" he said, giving the boy a gentle swat on the bottom.

Danny started walking toward Donna before Hyde looked back at Jackie. "What the hell is wrong with you, Jackie?" he asked. He bit his tongue again. He wouldn't yell. He wasn't going to ruin this night for anyone, except maybe himself.

"I'm sorry, Steven," Jackie said softly. "I… I thought you already knew… We sent you an invitation to the wedding." All this time she'd thought Steven hadn't come because he was angry, or because he hated her and Michael or something, and now she found out that he'd never known. She began to wonder if he had known, would he have been there? But it didn't really matter now.

"Well, I've been on the move ever since I left, Jackie… I don't get my mail." He shook his head. "But I never would have thought you'd do this." Sure, he'd known that in the end, he'd never be good enough for her. That he had known. But he'd never imagined that she'd go back to Kelso after what he'd done to her.

She looked him in the eye. "Steven," she said, "Listen to me."

Taking off the sunglasses, he looked right back at her. "I'm listening, Jackie. Say what you have to say to me."

Suddenly, she couldn't look him in the eye anymore. "Steven, I love Michael and my kids, and…"

"Michael?" he repeated. "You love Michael? Jackie, do you really love Kelso, or do you love the fact that Kelso and you look good together? Is it really love, or is it knowing that he makes good money, and he's good enough for you, and he's not me… That's it, isn't it, Jackie. I was never good enough, and neither was Fez."

"It's not about you or Fez," she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It's about the fact that I… I love…"

"Go ahead," he said. "Say it. Tell me you love Kelso again. But I'm never gonna believe it." She had loved him once. There was a time when she was in love with him. And he would never believe that she was in love with Michael Kelso.

Before Jackie could answer, Kelso had made his way over. He'd grown up a lot in ways, but he'd always be the same old Kelso. "Hey, Hyde!" he exclaimed, happily. "I didn't see you here!"

Hyde forced a grin. "It's good to see you, Kelso," he said, but he never took his eyes off of Jackie, until she pointed to the little boy and girl with Kelso.

"These are our kids, Steven," she said, her voice slow and meaningful. "This is Chrissy, and she's 8…" The little girl looked up at Hyde and waved shyly.

"Imagine that," he thought. "Kelso and Jackie havin' a shy kid."

"And this is Garrett," she said, pointing at the little boy. "He's 4."

Hyde looked at the kids and smiled. "You know what, Jackie… Kelso, this is great. But… But uh, I really gotta go."

Jackie tried to catch his eye, but he refused to look at her again. He put his sunglasses back on, and walked away. He stayed long enough to say goodbye to Eric and Donna, and Fez and Mrs. Fez, and then he was gone. He went out to the parking lot and drove to the Forman house… The only place that had ever truly been home. But he was only there long enough to gather his things, say goodbye to Kitty, and climb into the El Camino so that he could run.

Because he swore to himself, then and there, that he would never, ever see Jackie as Mrs. Michael Kelso again. Ever. He'd seen enough. Let Jackie keep her perfect life and her perfect kids and her perfect freaking Michael Kelso. Let her have it… He'd take the road. And for the first time in his life, freedom sounded a whole lot like hell.


End file.
